About The Radiation Research Program

The Radiation Research Program (RRP) supports basic, translational, and clinical research in radiotherapy and radiation biology. As part of NCI's Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (DCTD), RRP funds and guides cutting-edge research, fosters collaboration across institutions, and helps set the scientific direction for the field.
 

What We Do

RRP works with investigators, grantees, and research communities to advance radiation oncology science. Specifically, we:

• Provide scientific expertise to investigators conducting research with radiation and other forms of energy
• Help establish research priorities and lead targeted funding initiatives, including interagency collaboration
• Foster collaborative pre-clinical studies and clinical trials among extramural investigators
• Develop models and programs to expand access to cancer clinical trials across the U.S. and internationally
• Manage and evaluate NCI's radiation research grant portfolio
• Advise NCI-funded clinical trials groups and the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) on scientific priorities and quality assurance in radiotherapy trials
• Guide investigators in developing novel combined-modality therapies
• Serve as NCI's liaison to NIAID and the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response on radiation injury mitigation, normal tissue protection, and biomarker development for radiological and nuclear emergency response

Collaborations

RRP coordinates with radiation research efforts across NCI and beyond, including:
 

• Division of Cancer Biology
• Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
• Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics
• SBIR Development Center
• NCI Center for Cancer Research — Radiation Biology Branch
• NCI Center for Cancer Research — Radiation Oncology Branch
• NIH and other federal agencies
•  National and international research organizations
   

The Radiation Research Program (RRP) is one of eight major programs in the Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis of the National Cancer Institute. It comprises two highly collaborative branches:

Clinical Radiation Oncology Branch (CROB) plans, develops, and executes a clinical research program spanning radiation oncology, therapeutic nuclear medicine, and medical physics. The branch addresses radiation used alone and in combination with chemical, immunological, and biological agents, hyperthermia, and radiation modifiers. CROB reviews all clinical trials involving radiotherapy submitted to NCI's Clinical Trials Network (NCTN), the Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network (ETCTN), and the Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP).

Radiotherapy Development Branch (RDB) advances basic, preclinical, and translational research aimed at improving outcomes, safety, efficacy, and quality of life for patients receiving radiation and drug combination treatments. The branch serves as a focal point for basic and preclinical radiation oncology research within NIH and NCI, using diverse funding mechanisms and novel collaborations.

Program Officers across both branches collaborate actively with each other and with counterparts in other NCI programs and divisions.

RRP Organization

RRP Staff Directory

RRP's primary responsibility is to the grantees and contractors it supports. In fiscal year 2025, RRP administered 209 awarded grants totaling $120,537,321 in expenditures. Investigator-initiated R01/R2/R37 grants represented 85% of awards and 80% of expenditures; P01 grants accounted for an additional 3% of grants and 10% of expenditures. 

RRP Grants Award Distribution and Expenditures 2025

Current Funding Opportunities: Posted on grants.gov but not yet approved to open.

PAR-26-152: Precision Approaches in Radiation Synthetic Combinations (PAIRS, RP1 Clinical Trial Optional)
PAR-26-129: Systematic Testing of Radionuclides in Preclinical Experiments (STRIPE, RP1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
RFA-CA-27-003: Radiation Oncology-Biology Integration Network (ROBIN) Centers (U54 Clinical Trial Required)

NIH Highlighted Topics (Highlighted Topics) That is of Interest to DCTD's RRP.

Advancing Childhood and Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Research

Advancing Nanotechnology Research to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment Options

Cellular Quiescence, Senescence, and Cell Death in Aging and Disease

Computational Modeling of Complex Processes Across Biological Scales

Enhancing Data Usage and Utility to Advance Biomedical Research

Enhancing Scientific Rigor, Transparency and Replicability

Quantum Information Science & Technologies for Biomedical Applications

Research on Rare Cancers Across the Cancer Control Continuum

Search all NIH Highlighted Topics here

Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis Funding Initiatives

For general grant information, including guidelines, application forms, funding opportunities, and human subjects research requirements, visit grants.gov.

For Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) opportunities in radiation-related technology development, visit sbir.cancer.gov.
 

Paula M Jacobs, Ph.D.

Dr. Jacobs oversees RRP's extramural grant portfolio, covering external radiation therapy, radiation biology, and radiopharmaceuticals for targeted radiation therapy.

Her current service includes membership on the FDA Medical Imaging Drugs Advisory Committee and on steering and advisory committees for the Integrated Canine Data Commons, the Small Animal Imaging Program at Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, and the NIBIB Medical Imaging Data Resource Center. She also directs imaging studies in patient-derived xenograft cancer models in mice.

Before joining RRP, Dr. Jacobs served as Associate Director of NCI's Cancer Imaging Program, where she oversaw extramural grants in molecular imaging, nanotechnology, image-guided interventions, imaging technology, and imaging clinical trials. Her contributions there included reducing regulatory barriers to investigational PET radiopharmaceutical use, developing the Cancer Imaging Archive — a publicly available medical image resource with associated clinical metadata supporting machine learning — and advancing standardization of quantitative imaging methods.

Dr. Jacobs brings over 30 years of pharmaceutical and medical device industry experience to NCI. Her last industry position was Vice President at AMAG Pharmaceuticals (now Covis Pharma), where she led development of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for MRI and therapeutic iron drugs.

She holds degrees from MIT (undergraduate), Tufts University, and Northeastern University, with postdoctoral training at Northeastern, MIT, and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Her publications span organic and inorganic chemistry, MRI and PET imaging, regulatory affairs, neuro-oncology, and nephrology.